10 Essential Films and TV Shows To Get You Through Inauguration Day

Let’s be honest, 2016 was a garbage year, but 2017 and the years ahead don’t look all that bright either. The current state of American politics is part chaos, part circus, part something right out of a dystopian novel. Regardless of who you voted for last November, the truth is we’re about to enter a new era of American politics, one that’s already concerning for many, and especially terrifying for American minorities.

As film lovers and critics, we often look to the screen to help us through the struggles we’re faced with outside the movie theater. Beyond entertainment, art has the power to lend us strength, hope, and inspiration. It can educate us, create vessels for catharsis, and allow us to build empathy for those we identify with on screen, as well as those we may not. In many ways, art’s impact is vital now more than ever.

In a new episode of ScreenCrush’s podcast Long Takes, we celebrate the recent documentaries and TV shows we’re holding close to us as Inauguration Day approaches, our Film and TV Survival Guide for the next four years, if you will. ScreenCrush editors Erin Whitney and Britt Hayes discuss everything from Raoul Peck’s spectacular James Baldwin essay film, I Am Not Your Negro, to HBO’s The Trans List, which profiles 11 trans and gender non-conforming activists and artists telling their stories.

But staying educated and aware of pressing social issues isn’t the only thing we’re championing this week. Erin and Britt also share recommendations for their go-to comfort shows, like Netflix’s Lovesick and Hulu’s Catastrophe. Since we couldn’t include all of our recommendations in the episode, the ones we didn’t get to mention were Arrival, Hidden Figures, Insecure, Transparent, Broad City, Zootopia, web series Her Story, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

After you listen to the episode, tell us what movies and TV shows you’ve been watching to get you through the rough political climate. Share your recommendations in the comments, or on our Twitter and Facebook. After you subscribe on iTunes, be sure to rate us, leave us a review and tell us what you think of the show. For more from ScreenCrush, check out our awards season podcast with our latest of Oscar predictions, and listen to our previous episode of Long Takes about the troublesome Jennifer Lawrence-Chris Pratt sci-fi romance Passengers.

I Am Not Your Negro opens February 3.
Where To Invade Next is available on Amazon.
13th, Growing Up Coy, The OA, Lovesick, and Parks and Rec are available on Netflix.
The Trans List is available on HBO Go.
Catastrophe is available on Amazon Prime.